Automatic door opener



May 18 1926.

1,584,842 c. A. CARLSON AUTOMATI C DOOR OPENER Filed June 16, 1924 2Sheets-Sheet 1 gwueutoz:

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May 18, 1926.

CA. CARLSON AUTOMATIC DOOR OPENER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 16, 1924the doors, being connected to the Patented May 18, 1926.

UNITED stares CARL ANTON CARLSON, 013 FORT DODGE, IOWA.

AUTOMATIC DOOR OPENER.

Application filed June 16, 1924. Serial No. 720,403.

The present invention relates generally to door operating devices, andaims to provide a' novel and improved contrivance for auto maticallyopening doors adapted especially for use in houses or sheds for hogs andother animals.

It is the object of the invention to provide a door opening devicehaving novel and improved features of construction, to enhance theutility and efliciency of the device.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, which will be apparent asthe description proceeds, the invention resides in the construction andarrangement of parts, as hereinafter described and claimed, it beingunderstood that changes can be made within the scope of what is claimed,without departing from the spirit of the invention.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein-Figure 1 is an outside elevation of the structure.

Fig. 2 is an inside elevation thereof.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1, showing, in dotand dash lines, the position of the parts with the doors open.

Fig. 4: is a horizontal section on the line H of Fig. 1 showing thedoors open.

Fig. 5 is a horizontal section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1 showing amodification.

In the door construction illustrated in the drawings, the door framecomprises the posts or jambs 7 at the opposite sides of the dooropening, and the wall of the building or enclosure is indicated at 8.The doors 9 are connected by hinges 10 with the posts 7 so as to swingopen toward one side, and it will be obvious that the operatingmechanism can be used with either single or double doors.

Suitable springs 11 are provided for swinging the doors closed. and, asshown, the springs are located at the upper ends of doors and posts.

Threads 12 and 13 are disposed at the opposite sides of the doors belowthe lower ends of the doors, and are connected by hinges 14 with theposts 7 at the opposite edges of the door opening, to permit said treadsto be depressed, and the hinges are also arranged to enable the treadsto be swung upwardly so that trash or dirt which accumulates under thetreads can be cleaned away.

The operative connections between the treads and doors are duplicatedfor the two doors, and include levers15. fulcrumed between their ends,as at 16, tothe posts 7 at those sides of the posts opposite to thedoors 9. Links 17 are connected to the upper arms of said levers and tooutstanding arms 18 of plates 19 secured to the doors 9.- The links 17pass through holes in the Wall 8, and the arms 18 serve as stops tolimit the movement of the doors, as seen in Fig. 4, said arms 18 beingswung adjacent to or against the wall 8 when the doors are swung atsubstantially right angles with the wall. The lower arms of the levers15 are connected by chains or flexible elements 20 with the tread 12,while the upper arms of the levers 15 are connected by chains orflexible elements 21 with the tread 13, said chains being located at theside edges of the treads so as to be out of the way.

When the doors are closed by the springs 11, the arms 18 being swungaway from the wall will pull the links 17 and swing the levers 15 so asto pull the chains 20 and 21 upwardly and support the treads 12 and 13in substantially horizontal position. When the animal steps on eithertread, the tread is depressed, as seen in dotted lines in Fig. 3, andthe corresponding chains are pulled downwardly so as to swing the lever15 and pull the links 17 and to swing the arms 18 toward the wall 8,thereby swinging the doors 9 open, as seen in Fig. 4. Both treads swingdown so as to constitute runways to enable the animal to pass throughthe door opening while the doors are held open, and as soon as theanimal passes from the treads, the spring 11 will return the doors andtreads-to normal position. The doors are then normally held closed toexclude wind, rain, snow and the other elements from the building orenclosure, but the animals can readily pass through door opening intoand out of the enclosure.

The operating devices are located above the treads beyond the oppositeedges of the doors, so as not to interfere with the'passage of theanimals through the door way, and to also render the operating meansacthe cessible for repair or adjustment. The chains as well as the links17 pass through openings in thewall 8, and the chains 20 and 21 beingflexible will permit the treads 12 and 13 to be swung upwardly forcleaning or removing the trash or dirt that may accumulate under thetreads.

A modified arrangement is shown for opening the doors 9 by thedepression of the treads 12. Thus, for each door 9 there is provided atriangular link 22 connected by S-links 23 with eyes or staples 2%secured to the door and corresponding post 7, and the correspondingchain or flexible element 20 is connected to the link 22, as seen inFig. 5, instead of passing through the wall 8 and being connected to thelever 15. lVhen the tread 12 is depressed the link 22 is pulled down,and the links 22 and 23 provide a toggle so that the downward pull onthe link will break the toggle and pull the door open. The links 22 and23 can be left in place, as seen in Figs. 1 and 3, even though thechains 20 are connected to the levers 15,

so that either manner of connection can be used.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is z A doorstructure comprising a wall having a door opening, a door hinged to saidwall to swing into and out of said opening, a tread hinged to said wallat the lower port-ion of said opening an arm carried by said door at thehinged edge thereof and projecting toward one side from said wall andserving as a stop to limit the opening; movement of the door when saidarm contacts with Said wall, a lever mounted at that side of said wallopposite to said arm, a link connecting said arm and lever, and anoperative connection between said lever and tread whereby the depressionof the tread swings said lever to pull said link and arm so as to swingthe door open.

In testimony whereof I hereunto afiix my signature.

CAR-L ANTON CARLSON.

